The Lagos Boardwalks
Many people come to Lagos just to experience the Ponta da Piedade.
Spectacular views of grottos, rock formations and a crystal clear ocean. Yellow-golden cliff-like rocks up to 20 meters high, water churning in the grottoes.
Now thanks to an initiative by the city council of Lagos and with some Portuguese and EU funding, everyone, including the mobility challenged can experience this beautiful place from the top of the cliffs. Until recently, the trail and the views were inaccessible for me and others with reduced mobility.
Now a boardwalk follows the western side of the coastline. No steps, and some lovely viewing decks that are easy to pause and turn a scooter or wheelchair around. It is a great experience to be able to be able to get there on my own.
Plans are on the way to extend the boardwalk along the ocean path to Lagos. I can’t wait to scoot on accessible boardwalks from Lagos all the way to Praia Porto do Mós.
If you are fit and in “racing” shape using your wheelchair, getting to the entrance of the boardwalk is approximately 3kms from the historic center of Lagos. Or you can take your manual wheelchair in a taxi to the entrance for about 5 euros, then travel along the cliff tops at your leisure. Sol Nascente Café is there next to the lighthouse for refreshments.
Lagos is also planning to build a boardwalk similar to the one at Ponta da Piedade along the 4 kms of dunes at Meia Praia. Hopefully this will help protect the dunes from human trampling. For me it will be possible to accompany my partner to see the views of the estuary overlooked by the hills of Monchique that he has described.
On Jan 10th 2020 I sent a letter to the city council asking to make sure the new boardwalk will be fully accessible for people with reduced mobility. Here is a copy of the letter, to date I have not received a reply.
Exmo Sr. Presidente,
Estou escrevendo sobre a passadeira que será construído ao longo das dunas da Meia Praia. Reduzi a mobilidade e preciso usar uma scooter de mobilidade para me movimentar.
Por favor, certifique-se de que o passeio na prancha seja acessível a pessoas que usam cadeiras de rodas e scooters de mobilidade. Semelhante a passadeira da Ponta da Piedade, ele não deve ter degraus ou escadas, superfícies lisas e alguns lugares / decks de visualização que sejam amplos o suficiente para virar.
Além disso, a segunda seção da passadeira entre de Ponta da Piedade a Porto do Mós tem uma etapa que dificulta o uso de cadeira de rodas ou scooter de mobilidade, isso poderia ser corrigido?
Aguardo sua resposta.
Com os meus melhores cumprimentos,
Constance Houck
It is exciting to see these inclusive projects come to fruition. Soon hopefully, anyone in a wheelchair or mobility scooter will be have more choices of accessible places to swim, watch the ocean and admire the natural beauty of the Algarve coastline. We need your support to keep rolling forward, please contact us to add your voice or donate if you can.
